A Year of Gratitude

So I'm reading '1,000 Gifts' by Ann Voskamp and I have to say, it's really hitting me.  The need to be grateful.  Thankful.  To see beauty in the everyday.  To practice gratitude in the midst of the chaos of life.  When the boys are fighting and driving me crazy, I am learning to discipline myself to stop and thank God that they have each other.  When I don't want to drag myself to the grocery store, taking a moment to be grateful that I can afford to buy food for my family.  And the list goes on.  It's a completely different way of looking at the world, and one that I suspect I won't ever get right, but I figure it has to start somewhere, and that maybe in starting I will learn to have more peace and joy in the life God has given. 

With this in mind, I've decided that I want 2012 to be a year of gratitude.  So, we're starting a family list of things that we are thankful for.  A journal that we will all add to as we see fit.  And the boys and I are are going to try to complete one 'act' of thankfulness per week.  Up this week:  making thank you cards for the neighborhood people with the over-the-top Christmas light displays that gave us so much pleasure.  And on this blog?  Well, I think this is where I will chronicle things that I am especially grateful for each week.  I'm sure it will be a mixed bag of homeschool photos, goofy kids, homemade projects, random pictures and shameless plugs for products that I've run across and love, but that remains to be seen.

So, without further adieu, this week's entries:

 The sloppy, drooling mess that is our nearly eight month old daughter -- she has completely changed our lives and caused us to slow down and enjoy each other more often.

 Sweet Chase who just adores his baby sister and takes every opportunity to hold and feed her.  That truly cannot be expected of a six year old boy, but I sure do love seeing him dish it up anyway!

 Kids who think that:
A) Math games are fun (let's be honest, they were just adding time) and
B) A big bowl of raw veggies with hummus and ranch is a completely acceptable snack to be eaten happily.

 Quirky Jake who made me laugh by doing his math wearing a Santa hat.  In January. 

 Need I say more?

 Grandparents who send fun gifts :-)  Jake has been having a blast building funnels and ramps with this Contraptions set, and his Hexbug has been the crash dummy.

 Family game time.  We love playing games in the evenings, especially in the winter when it gets dark earlier.  A friend gave us this 'Pick and Draw' game, that has everyone drawing cartoon faces -- too cute!

And so it begins . . . the journey into a year long project that I hope will give us all new eyes to see how blessed we are, and maybe even help us learn to be a blessing to others.  I guess we'll have to wait and see, won't we?

Until next time,

Crystal

Christmas Cards

I love them.  Like I mean, really, really love them.  Could have something to do with all of the moving around, but Christmas cards very nearly bring me to tears.  When my hubby walked in the door this evening with a mitt full of cards that arrived a few days after Christmas I felt like we'd found an extra present under the tree.  The cheesy family photos where someone's hair is always looking a little funky or where someone's kids are so beautiful you want to take your own kids for haircuts and new wardrobes immediately.  The letters that you know really only highlight the good stuff and leave out reality but somehow make you feel connected anyway.  And can I just say that photo cards are the best thing to ever happen to this sacred tradition?  Every year I completely cover a couple of doors with beautiful pictures of family and friends and smile each time I walk by them.  They hang out long after the tree has been packed up and then are retired to shoe boxes with the promise of a permanent scrapbook home someday.  May never happen, but I take comfort in my own good intentions.  So early December, mid-January, Merry Valentines Day -- I'm not picky, just keep them coming.  Because they feel like little stitches in the tapestry of our transient lives.  Seeing all those smiling faces in one (or two, depending on the economy that year) place makes my heart happy.

Crystal

Christmas Blessings

So another Christmas has come and gone and I find myself reflecting on what an amazing year this has been!  This Christmas I really couldn't care less what was under the tree (although everyone was thoroughly spoiled, as usual) or what we were eating (again, most of the goodies got made anyway) because I just couldn't get past this overwhelming feeling of being so completely and utterly blessed in the big things that the little things just didn't matter.  For the first time in a long time I kind of felt like I 'got it' this year.  Although I didn't get the gingerbread house decorated and we forgot to leave out milk and cookies, I did not forget to be grateful.  For family.  For a warm home.  For satisfied bellies.  For our adorable baby girl treasure.  For our beautiful boys.  For friends who feel like family when we are far away from home.  For our church.  For the promise of exciting times ahead as we make the trek from east to west this spring.  For an amazing husband who truly is the helpmate God intended.  For the incredible gift of God's son. 

And so, while an astounding number of people bicker over whether or not we should say 'Merry Christmas' or 'Happy Holidays', and whether or not it is constitutional to have a nativity scene on a courthouse lawn, I can't help but think that it doesn't matter.  Christmas is Christmas whether everyone wants to call it that or not.  On December 25th we celebrate the birth of the Savior.  Inventing new names for this celebration doesn't change the fact that it happened and that we are all well aware of what we are celebrating.  So I wish a 'Merry Christmas' to everyone I see and say a prayer that I will never let the voices of a few rob me of my joy and peace during this most sacred time of the year. 

Blessings.

Crystal

Little Boys

Today was one of those days that was full of 'little boy' moments.  Jake fell into the bathtub where his 'Grow  A Lizard' was soaking (it's going to be three feet long!!!), Chase sliced his finger up trying to figure out how my rotary cutter worked and then proceeded to wipe the bloody finger all over my sewing chair, and both of them got the giggles over a joke that Jake read in his Highlights magazine.  But, the two moments that really caught my attention made me want to freeze time. 

This morning, while waiting for Chase to have an x-ray, Jake moved my bag off of my chair and crawled up into my lap.  All 50 pounds of his seven-year old self, lanky legs dangling, head leaned back on my shoulder.  And just as I was about to tell him he was too big for this and that he should move to his own chair, I stopped.  I thought about how he really was seven, and for all I knew this could be the last time he ever asks to sit in my lap.  And I squeezed him a little tighter and let him stay.

Later on in the day we decided to go for a walk.  I put Leia in the stroller and both boys hopped on their scooters for a zip through the neighborhood.  Our custom is for them to get ahead of me, but stop at each corner to wait.  They had been out of sight for a few seconds and as I crested a small hill, I saw both boys down on the sidewalk, scrawny arms at right angles, helmets glinting in the sun as they . . . did pushups.  It was hysterical.  What was even more funny was the way they then jumped to their feet, shaking their arms and muttering "Whew!  That was a good workout!"  But the icing on the cake was when Chase, still oblivious to my presence, bent his skinny little arm up into a show-off pose and said, "And see, Jake?  Look at my muscles!"  Too cute for words.  And I really did want to freeze the moment when, on a sunny summer day they were just so happy and cute and being such classic little boys. 

So hopefully when I think back on this period in our lives I will forget about the fights over cleaning the play room, and the crying over nothing and remember moments like these ones.  Because they make me feel like the most blessed mommy in the world.

A Lesson

Today I had one of those days that made me think my kids were rock stars.  Don't get me wrong, there were definitely moments of insanity when I questioned why it was that Chase was incapable of buckling his seat belt and closing the van door without being reminded.  And Leia did spit up all over both of us while facing forward in the Baby Bjorn (but don't worry, I didn't discover it until I was well out of that store . . . ).  Oh, and Jake did lay on the floor and beat his heels when I asked him to do his math page.  But I digress. 

So there we were, sitting in the doctor's office and I was losing it.  We had been waiting in a 6x8 room for over 40 minutes when I finally stuck my head out the door to ask about the whereabouts of our health provider.  This brought on a flurry of activity and phone calls, during which absolutely no one was interested in making eye contact with me.  When the doctor finally showed up, the first words out of his mouth involved a to-the-minute account of my check-in time, and a determination that there was no way I had been waiting in that room for 40 minutes (because 38 of those minutes were in the identical 6x8 room next door).  As I checked my ears for steam and attempted to proceed calmly with the appointment, which then led to x-rays, then blood work, resulting in us being at the clinic significantly longer than intended, I was struck by the fact that I was the only one who seemed to have an issue with this.  The boys had been happily playing 'Guess the Animal' (20 questions) and decorating themselves with the stickers that every person walking by kept handing them, and Leia had been contentedly kicking and cooing in my lap the majority of the time.  So at what point did my children surpass me in patience and maturity?!?  Not sure, but I felt a little sheepish. 

Why Wait?

I decided that I wanted a way to document our daily comings and goings, add pictures, and be able to essentially journal about our life.  Mostly because it's crazy.  And fun.  Every time I have a conversation like the following:  Me:  Chase, did you know that you can be anything you want to be when you grow up?  Chase:  Like a zebra?!?  I think, I have GOT to write that down!  I don't want to forget how stinking hilarious these kids are.  And when Jake casually wanders over and identifies the weird cockroachy looking thing we pulled out of the ocean as a "mole crab" (apparently he read about it in a book somewhere) I think, I have GOT to write this down!  I don't want to forget how disconcertingly smart these kids are!  And when Leia screeches at the top of her lungs and throws me a grin, complete with upper lip dimples and a scrunched up nose, I think, I have GOT to write this down.  I don't want to forget how utterly adorable these kids are.  SO, here I am writing things down.  So that I don't forget.  And so that I can share our adventures with family and friends who may find them equally hilarious, smart or cute (okay, not equally -- I realize that's not their job). 

For the longest time I was dragging my feet on getting started, because I am not so computer savvy.  I am artistic and like things to look fantastic but lack the technical know-how to make that happen on this blog.  But, I decided it will just have to be a work in progress, as if I wait any longer, I may start forgetting . . .